Rurouni Naruto
by DaxusKnight
Summary: What if Naruto Uzumaki, the third Jinchuriki of Kurama the Nine Tailed Fox, was taken in by an Uncle that he had never met and was trained, not only as a Samurai, but also as a Ninja, then came back to the Hidden Leaf to live his life? What new adventures would he have in this new life?
1. Disclaimer

**Disclaimer:**

All characters used in this FanFic are solely owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki and Masashi Kishimoto. This story was written for fun, not for profit. No copyright infringements have been made, intentionally or otherwise. I own nothing except for the story itself and any OCs that may appear.


	2. The Bloodline Ends

A cold silent chill fell over the ruins ofKonohagakure. News had spread that night to other villages of what had happened in the once mighty Leaf village, the Hokage was dead…. Tears of sorrow mixed with tears of anger and fear stained the faces of the shinobi that were left alive after the attack of the Kyuubi that night as they all struggled to create some semblance of calm in this dire of moments. The _Sandaime Hokage,_ Hiruzen Sarutobi was the only symbol of strength the people had to give them hope as they tended to the wounded and began search and rescue efforts hoping to find more survivors

"Sandaime-sama, we need to figure out what to do next." A member of the Konohagakure council stated as he surveyed the state the village was in

"That, I fear may be harder than it sounds," The Hokage's voice was soft and gentle but it was obvious he was holding back his emotions "First, we much try to find Kushina that would have been one of the first priorities of the _Yondaime Hokage._" His words sparked something within one of the council members that stood with him

"Apologies Hokage-sama, but wasn't she the Jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox?" This prompted the others to look at the Hokage

"And your point?"

"Well if the demon fox attacked then it is safe to say that Kushina is dead is it not?" The council member replied earning murmurs of agreement from the other members

"That has yet to be proven," The Hokage replied his voice serious as he turned and looked at the man before him "She was the wife of the fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, it is our duty to find her, even if she is dead or alive." He spoke with finality in his voice and this caused all the members to beat a wise retreat as he returned his attention to his once proud village which lay before him in ruins

_'The pain of being alone...is not an easy one to bear….Why is it...that I can understand your pain?' _He thought to himself as he stared down at the baby boy crying before him_ 'This is a complete mess that it is.'_

_"What do you want to do about the kid?" _Asked a tall, lean man with spiky brown hair and intense brown eyes as he looked around taking in the scene of the two dead bodies and the small baby boy wailing "It's not like we can take him with us," His voice trailed off as he looked at the man with him "Not with that thing inside him." Pointing to the seal on the boys' stomach

"You are right my friend," The man replied sighing gently as he ran a hand over his mid-back length red hair which was tied in a thick ponytail "But he is family." Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and made a few quick hand signs and touched a gentle finger to the boys' left arm "This seal will break the first time the beasts' chakra seeps out of him." Instantly turning his attention to the north where sounds of yelling were heard he gestured to his companion to leave

Fading into the shadows both men watched as the Anbu of the Leaf found the scene and began policing the bodies and making sure the baby was ok before contacting the Hokage. A few minutes after the Anbu had arrived the men left when they saw the Hokage make his appearance along with the council and whisk the boy away as the sun rose on a new day, the day Naruto Uzumaki was born

**7 years later**

"NARUTO!" A strong male voice bellowed as a young boy who looked no more than 7 years old ran happily away from pulling his latest prank. Clad in a white t-shirt and blue shorts with his shoes, giggling as he raced through the city streets he ducked into an alleyway with the hopes that no one would find him. Taking a deep breath Naruto looked down at his feet with a soft sigh, he only did things like this for attention since no one really wanted to have anything to do with him in the Leaf because of his curse as most villagers called it, but others simply chose to ignore the boy under the premise that children to should neither be seen nor heard and as such on both counts they told their own children to stay away from him

"Still up to your old games I see." A voice shook Naruto from his day dream as he looked up seeing a light-skinned man of below-average stature with grey hair

"Hokage-sama." Naruto's voice slowly broke as his resolve shattered as he hugged the man tightly and sobbed heavily

"There, there young one its ok." The old man was one of the only people in the village that was kind to Naruto and for this the young boy was glad

Gently picking the boy up he carried him in his arms towards the Ichiraku ramen shop to treat him to a meal. Smiling gently he boy ate happily to his heart's content as the old Hokage watched him while smoking from his pipe. Relaxing atop the Hokage monument after the meal watching the sunset Naruto smiled to the Hokage before several Anbu showed up and directed the old man's attention to a pressing matter, leaving Naruto on his own with the promise to come see him again the Hokage left with the Anbu

Walking back to his apartment Naruto looked around at the hateful looks from everyone he passed as several whispered under their breath about him being the demon spawn and wanting to kill him themselves. Closing his eyes the boy opened the door to his apartment and walked into his room and curled up in his bed before falling asleep….

**5 years later**

Waking to the scream of his alarm he reached a weary hand towards the mechanical annoyance and shut it off. Pulling the covers over his head he sighed gently as he contemplated waking up or not but then it dawned on him, today was the day. Kicking the covers off him ran to the shower in his apartment and got himself ready for the day at hand. Giving himself a once over in the mirror in his bedroom he ran out of the door and took to the roofs heading towards the academy. He had grown a bit in terms of his looks, his blue eyes and blond spiky hair gave him a kind look, but being who he was and what he had inside him people thought differently. Dressed in an orange tracksuit with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as around the waist, a white swirl with a tassel on the left shoulder, a red swirl on the back, a large white collar, orange pants and blue sandals he raced as fast as he could towards his class room to find out if he was going to graduate the academy or not

"Ok then, here we go." The voice of Iruka Umino, a man of average height and build, black hair that he keeps in a ponytail, dark eyes and a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose "We'll be going in alphabetical order, starting with Chouji Akimichi." With that a spiky, brown haired boy moved to the front and did the required jutsu to be granted graduation from the academy

As the day drifted on the other students went along and did what they had to, some like Neji Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha excelling over others, some passing with medium effort but when it was Naruto's turn he had failed miserably, this cause the whole class to laugh at him making him get angry

"Stop laughing at me." Naruto's voice shook with sadness and anger as he looked down and balled his hands into fist "Stop. Laughing. At…" Taking a deep breath as his body began to shake as his blue eyes become red and pupils became slitted with the whisker marks on his face widen and thicken "MEEEEEEEEE!" His voice boomed around the whole village as he snarled angrily, but before anything else could happen, a glowing red mark appeared on his arm and as the mark slowly disappeared the transformation he went through reversed before rendering him completely unconscious

"Someone get the Hokage," Iruka shouted as he flung the door wide open and turned to the student "All of you, go home for now, you will be contacted about your exam results." And with that several persons rushed into the room as the students filed out of the room some murmuring about not being able to do their exam and others asking what had just happened

Several hundred miles away, a man sitting beneath a waterfall meditating silently opened his eyes looking down at his arm seeing a familiar seal appear on his arm and vanish just a quickly. Standing he moved with quick steps and was out from under the fall and inside a small cottage where he began getting dressed

"Something has you abuzz." A voice sounded from the corner as a man with a wild shock of spiky brown hair and intense brown eyes looked over at him

"The seal has been broken." The man spoke as he pulled his red hair back into a ponytail and tying it "Now I must go to Konohagakure that I must." Turning to face the man behind him, who by this time was standing in the light of the door

"Well then," Smirking gently the brown haired man smiled "I guess things have gotten interesting, eh Kenshin?"


	3. A New Path

"No, I think we should find a way to kill the boy and seal the beast in something or someone else." The voice of one of the council members rang out as he glared at another member from across the table running a hand through his onyx colored hair

"I think we should try to use the boy as a tool to protect our village," A man with blond hair spoke up looking at the Hokage "Sandaime-sama, surely you must see that while the boy is the son of Yondaime-Hokage, he would be better utilized as a tool for protecting the village."

This sparked various murmuring and arguing from everyone in the room but something was off and Sarutobi could feel it but he couldn't place it, it was a feeling he knew all too well but from where, that was what he could not remember

"Ladies and gentlemen," After a while he stood speaking in a calm tone "While you all may have various reasons, from as noble as protecting the village from future harm," Looking at the blond kindly "To as harsh and cold hearted as to kill Naruto because of what is sealed within him, I believe that….." The Hokage's voice trailed off as from the back of the room he saw a pair of deep violet eyes staring at him which slowly turned to gold as they got closer

"No one shall touch that boy that they will not." A voice chimed as the owner of the eyes came into full view "If you do, I will not forgive you." He was a man of small, slender build and with a youthful, feminine visage

"How dare you interrupt this meeting, guards!" The onyx haired man answered angrily and looked to the doors wondering why the guards had not shown up yet

"If you're talking about these guys," Another male's voice sounded as the unconscious bodies of three men wearing animal-styled masks with black clothing and grey chest armor, metal arm guards and gloves, ninja sandals and a sword strapped to their backs, fell to the ground in front of the golden eyed male "I took them out and the rest of their friends and allowed my pal here to go ahead."

"Would you men be so kind as to state your names?" Sarutobi's voice broke through the silence that had befallen the room as he took in the appearance of both men

The man with gold eyes was dressed in a simple, plain purple men's kimono with a white umanori hakama, zori and white tabi, his red hair was tied in a thick ponytail which showed off a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. His companion, who was tall and lean with brown hair and eyes, was clad in a white happi jacket with black trim and the kanji character AKU, which stood for Evil, emblazoned conspicuously on the back in black as well as white dogi trousers, white sarashi bandage tape wrapped around his abdomen, ankles and feet, a long red headband and matching sarashi around his left forearm

"With respect to the Sandaime-Hokage and the council members of Konohagakure," Looking mainly at Sarutobi the red haired man spoke "My name is Kenshin Himura, and this is my associate Sanosuke Sagara."

"What?" The collective exclamation of the council members earned a smirk from Sano as he looked them over "You could not be the Battosai, he was rumored dead at the same time of the Kyuubi's attack on our village."

"And that is exactly what it was, a rumor." Sano spoke up glaring at them all at this insult and was about to speak up but a hand on his shoulder stopped him

"The rumor of my death was started because the end of my bloodline was forthcoming." Kenshin's eyes had not left Sarutobi's as he spoke "While I did not know the Yondaime-Hokage personally, I knew his wife," His voice softened as his eyes left the Hokage for a moment "Kushina was my younger sister."

These announcements came as a shock to everyone in the room, but as Kenshin went on to explain what had happened the collective aura of the room was confusion

"So, you came back to the village because the seal you put on Naruto had broken and you wish to take him with you to train?" The question was thrown out once Kenshin was done

"Yes, I believe that as Naruto's uncle I have the right to take him with me and raise him." The resolution in Kenshin's voice was enough to grant him permission from Sarutobi to take Naruto but this raised some arguments from several council members who did not wish to lose this powerful weapon

A deep groan left his lips as he stirred slightly and tried to bring his right arm up to rub his eyes but when he realized that his hand couldn't move passed his shoulder he looked over and saw that his hand was shackled to the bed he was laying on

"Hey, what's going on?" He bellowed as he tugged on the restraints "Is there anyone there?" Looking around he saw nothing and no one in sight, and as panic set in he felt his fear rip through him and thought for sure that the villagers had gotten tired of him and his pranks

Curling into a ball on the bed he buried his face into his knees and gently began to cry before hearing the distant opening of a cell door. Sitting there wondering what was going to happen to him he sighed and wiped away his tears as he looked down on the ground

"Naruto Uzumaki?" A voice that was not familiar to him sounded as the gate to his cell opened "How are you feeling?" As Naruto looked up he saw a man with shoulder-length, white hair that has a slight hint of blue to it and green eyes

"Wh-who are you?" The boy's voice trembled slightly he was completely unsure of what was going on and now this person that he had never seen before was releasing him?

"I am Mizuki-sensei; I saw what happened to you at the genin exams this morning." The male responded calmly walking over to the boy and undid his restraints "I must say, I'm rather impressed with you Naruto."

"Impressed?" Naruto's voice was wary of this man as he began undoing the restraint on his hand "How so?"

"You have no idea do you?" Mizuki chuckled gently as he handed Naruto a bottle of water and ushered the boy out of the cell "Do you even know what happened to you today?" This sparked the blond youth to look at him with confusion which prompted him to continue "You have something great inside you Naruto; you are the sole possessor of the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi?" Naruto was not more confused than ever "What does that mean?"

"It means kid, that you have the power to do and take anything you want without anyone stopping you and I can help you with that, for a price of course." The smirk on Mizuki's face was as plain as day and Naruto wondered what this really meant for him as Mizuki continued to explain what was required of Naruto to gain his help and trust

The night had fallen and the plan was set into motion, Naruto was making his way through the streets of the village silently and quickly heading towards the Hokage's office when he noticed someone watching him and instantly ducked into the shadows before moving silently down the alley and making his way to the office from another path

Taking to the rooftops as he got closer, he marked various escape points in the building before making his move. Within five minutes, he was in and out of the office and heading back to the rendezvous point to meet with Mizuki, who was actually surprised to see the boy coming towards him with the large scroll strapped to his back

"Wow, I never expected you to get it done." Smiling as he looked at the boy "I underestimated you Naruto, good job." The praise caused the boy to smile widely as he happily scratched the back of his head

"Thanks Mizuki-sensei, but I need to know something," Naruto's voice softened as he removed the scroll from his back "I know you said I shouldn't have but I read the scroll and this seems to be the Forbidden Jutsu's of our village, what I wanna know is," Naruto's voice became stern and serious "Why would you use me to steal it?"

Looking at Naruto's expression, Mizuki sighed gently before slowly bursting into a fit of laughter so much so that he fell to his knees in a fit of raucous laughter

"You stupid kid, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do this." Taking a deep breath Mizuki began telling Naruto the truth about the Kyuubi and what happened twelve years ago in the village "So you see that's why everyone hates you and think's you're nothing more than dirt on the ground, now, how about you give me the scroll and I won't have to kill you?"

"I hate when people use other's for their own evil schemes that I do." A voice sounded from Naruto's body that made Mizuki step back slightly in fear and confusion "Especially when they try to use my nephew to steal from their village and then threaten to kill him." Slowly Naruto's body began shimmering as the Henge no Jutsu was released and there standing in Naruto's place was a person who Mizuki knew all too well and the sight of this person made fear grip him hard

"Hitokiri Battosai!" Swallowing hard a lump formed in his throat Mizuki began backing away in fear but was stopped as he backed into someone

"Hey Kenshin, do you want me to take this one…?" Sanosuke's voice sounded from behind Mizuki but trailed off as an orange blur passed him, but as he turned and processed the scene he smirked as he realized that Naruto who was hiding in bushes nearby with Iruka and several others launched himself at Mizuki slamming his fist into the man's face sending him to the ground hard

"You….You tricked me, you bastard." Unloading punch after punch Naruto's let his anger rise again and the more it did the more Kenshin knew there was a chance for the Kyuubi to come out, so much to his unwillingness he gently laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder

"It's ok Naruto that it is." Gently helping the boy up as he started sobbing "No one will ever use you again nor will they try to harm you once I'm done training you that is if you want to train with me."

His words bore volumes to the boy, someone finally wanted him, wanted to help him and make him a part of their family. So it was with great relief and gratitude in his heart that Naruto Uzumaki, left the Hidden Leaf Village with his uncle Kenshin Himura and his traveling companion, Sanosuke Sagara, and that for Naruto was the beginning of his new life


	4. The Wanderer of the Hidden Leaf

The clank of steel against steel could be heard through the whole forest on this cool spring day, as the heavy breathing and panting of both combatants became a cadence as they each sized up their opponent. Kenshin Himura, brother to Kushina Uzumaki and uncle to Naruto Uzumaki, was in an all-out war of swords against his nephew as there friend and travel companion Sanosuke Sagara watched with bated breath as these two masters of _Kenjutsu _went at it like men possessed

It had been two years since Naruto had started travelling with them and from what he had seen the young man had blossomed, not only as a master of _Kenjutsu_ which was taught to him by his uncle but also a master at _Taijutsu_ taught to him by Sano, and that was a surprise to him as he paid keen attention to the men battling it out before him

"That's enough for today Naruto." Kenshin breathe deeply as he fell to the ground completely tired and drained after three hours of sparring with his nephew

"Come on, Kenshin-oji," Naruto breathed deeply as Kenshin and Sano taught him so he could regain his stamina "I can still go." This earned a chuckle from Sano who walked over with a bucket of water and ladle for them to have a drink

"Kid, calm down, you're gonna run yourself ragged if you keep this up."

"I don't care Sano-san, I want to get better." Naruto frowned as he watched his uncle take a drink of the water

"You are good Naruto, that you are," Letting out a soft sigh Kenshin stood "A lot better than I would have expected in two years, and that's why this decision was so hard for me to make." His words sparked Sano to walked away knowing this was a conversation for them both

"Sano-san?" Naruto's voice was unsure as he looked from his friend to his uncle

"Naruto, you have grown into a great samurai and I could not be prouder, but while you are my nephew, and I have taught you everything I know," Sighing heavily Kenshin moved over to the blond boy and rested his hand on his shoulder "I think the time has come for you to return to Konohagakure to complete your shinobi training."

"But why? Why would I need to go back to that place when no one there even liked me?" Naruto growled as he remembered how the villagers used to treat him

"It is what your mother and father, who died protecting you, would want." Looking at his nephew Kenshin felt his heart breaking but maintained his resolve "And I want you to learn the skills that earned your father the nickname Konoha's Yellow Flash and allowed your mother to be the most powerful Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi to date."

Taking a deep breath the boy nodded realizing that while he did want to stay with his uncle and friend he had to see what his parentage skills had to offer, so it was decided that in the following days arrangements would be made for him to go back to the Hidden Leaf Village, but he would make the journey alone since Kenshin was needed back by Kaoru's side since she would be giving birth soon

"Are you sure about this?" A voice sounded in the darkness as two figure's wearing conical straw hats with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces and were clad in long, dark cloaks with red clouds, red interiors, and chin-high collars , were seen walking out of a village that was completely in flames

"Yes I am," The second figure replied as it stopped and looked back at the village "Besides, rumor has it that our next target is heading back to Konohagakure, and this gives me a chance to see what the nephew of the Battōsai can really do." And with that both figure's left the burning village behind as they headed about their business

The sun was just rising over Konohagakure as the guards at the main entrance to the city changed their shifts and began going over the itinerary for the coming day

"Hey, do you think we'll see anything fun today?" One of the men asked as he looked out at the sky, he had brown hair which covered his right eye, and dark eyes

"Do we ever see anything fun Izumo?" The other man asked calmly as he watched the drifting of the clouds, as he ran a hand through his long, spiky, black hair and closed his dark eyes yawning gently

"Come on Kotetsu," Izumo replied with a smile "I have a good feeling about today." Looking over at his partner as he caught sight of someone coming towards the gate

"I wonder who that could be so early in the morning." Kotetsu stated as he checked the file in front of him "No one is scheduled for this early."

Both men instantly stood and Izumo made his way to the gate as both of them took in the sight of the person before them. As the person got closer they realized that whoever it was, wasn't more than 4ft 8inches tall, and adorned in a red men's kimono with a black _umanori hakama, zori_ and black _tabi_ with his red hilted sakabatō is worn under a red _obi_ at his left hip in a red and black, steel _saya._ Stopping before them the stranger didn't raise his head to them he only handed them a letter which both men immediately went wide-eyed seeing the emblem emblazoned on it….

A short time later the stranger was seated in the Hokage's office silently as he waited, it felt weird being back in this place after so long for him but he had to deal with it and as much as he wanted to just run out of this place and never return Kenshin had asked him to train here for two months and if things hadn't changed or improved for him in any way he was free to come back. Boredom has begun to set in as he was now seated by the window gazing absent-mindedly out over the expanse of the village, taking a deep breath he stood and stretched letting the fresh air fill his lungs as he turned and looked around he saw the door open

"Sorry to make you wait so long," The familiar voice that sounded made him smile "I had to make arrangements for you to be assigned to a team after you retake your Genin exams." His words were literally in one ear and out the other as the stranger hugged him so tightly he squeezed the air from the man's body "It is good to see you again to Naruto; you seem to have grown a lot in those two years."

"I have old man, and you seem to have gotten wrinklier." Naruto smiled as this earned him a pat on the head from Sarutobi "but why do I have to retake the exam?"

"This is just to test where your level is at so we can see how best to assign you to a team." Sarutobi went into further detail about what was expected of him and to this Naruto smiled gently

"When can I do it?" The enthusiasm in the boy's voice prompted the Hokage to stand and move to the door opening it for him, as if saying we can go now

"Hmmm, I have never seen this in my life," Iruka smiled gently as he watched Naruto doing the combat portion of the exam "Even though he was trained as a samurai for the last two years he is still extremely skilled at taijutsu, ninjutsu and the use of ninja weaponry, and he's even better than most of the kids his age."

"I guess that's what happens when you've been trained by the Battosai." Stated a tall and well-built man with high cheek-bones, thick eyebrows and black hair cut in a bowl style "But his taijutsu skills are wild but focused at the same time, I wonder who taught him."

"So what do you say Guy-sensei," The Sandaime-Hokage smiled watching as Naruto dodged a round house kick to the head and counter with an arm drag take down "Do you think he has what ti takes to be on your team?"

"I'll take him." A voice sounded from the back of the group as a fair-skinned, fit and relatively tall shinobi with spiky white hair, his forehead protector was tilted to the left to cover his eye and he wore a mask which obscured the lower-half of his face "I want to see what he can do really do." This statement prompted the Hokage and the others to look at him

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" Iruka asked letting the confusion in his voice show through "Are you saying he's holding back?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Kakashi answered as he walked forward looking down at the boy "For some reason he's hiding his true power, and that may not be for his own benefit."

As the fight ended below the sensei's approached Naruto, all taking turned praising him as Kakashi took the chance to slip away unnoticed much to the Hokage's embarrassment as he was just about to introduce Naruto to his new team leader. After informing the blond hair boy that he had been granted the level of Genin and was going to be a part of Team Kakashi, Naruto was left to roam the village and gather the essentials he needed for the apartment that he used to stay in when he was living in the Leaf

As he walked around trying to get reacquainted with the village and the locations in it, he was greeted by curious gazes and murmurs from the person he passed on the street. Stopping as he felt his stomach rumble he sighed and looked around spotting a sign that read Ichiraku Ramen he walked over and entered taking a seat

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Ichiraku Ramen." A young woman and older gentleman stated in unison. The young woman was a slender girl with long, brown hair and eyes, plus fair skin, while the man was older and had short brown hair with a slightly darker skin tone than the woman

"Good afternoon, may I have a….?" Naruto's voice trailed off as he noticed the man and the woman staring at him "Is something wrong?"

"You look familiar, but judging by your clothes I can tell you're not from the village." The woman stated matter-of-factly as she looked at Naruto "Oh forgive me, I'm Ayame and this is my father Teuchi."

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki." Smiling at her kind expression Naruto looked over the menu

"Did you just say that your name was Naruto Uzumaki?" A voice sounded from the corner

"That I did, do you know me?" Naruto asked confused that anyone in the village remembered him because so far no one recognized him, but then again it might have been due to the fact that his hair was now styled similarly to Kenshin's

"So, you're my new team mate then?" Scoffing with incredulity the young man shook his head "What makes the Hokage think that you would make a good addition to my team?"

"Well, come at me and find out." Naruto stated confidently as he took in the young man's appearance. He was fair-skinned with onyx eyes and black chin-length hair which was spiky in the back with bangs that hung above his eyes

"Then let's take this outside." The young man stated as he walked passed and bumped into Naruto on his way out

Standing in front of each other both boys stared down one another as Naruto cracked his neck and glared at the boy before him

"Anytime you're ready." The onyx haired male called as he shoved his hands in his pockets

"Since you're unarmed I'll lay down my Sakabatō Saisei for this fight." Pulling the sword from his _obi_, Naruto laid it on the ground and held a fighting stance "Come at me."

As those words left the blond boy's lips the other boy rushed forward and leapt into the air throwing a kick which he believed would catch the blond but was shocked when Naruto launched a punch at the same time only to have his kick and the punch stopped by the appearance of a man with white spiky hair


	5. Master of Battōjutsu

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing?" The onyx eyed young man growled as he glared at his squad leader "I want to see if this dead-last has what it take to be on our team."

"Dead-last?" Naruto snapped back "What gives you the right to judge me and call me dead-last?"

"Sasuke, I think you should go find Sakura and bring her to training ground three." Kakashi chimed in before both boys could go after each other again

This irked Sasuke but he did as he was told and with that vanished in a puff of smoke as Kakashi turned to watch the blond samurai pick up his sword

"I heard you call that weapon Sakabatō Saisei," Kakashi spoke up before Naruto had a chance to walk away "Sakabatō means Reverse-Blade Sword and Saisei means Rebirth, am I correct?"

"That you are Kakashi-sensei," Slowly drawing the blade the boy smiled "This is my Reverse-Blade Sword Rebirth, I gave it that name because it was made to resemble the original sword used by the Battosai, the Sakabatō Kageuchi before it was broken."

"Hmmm, that is very interesting." The white haired male stated thinking a bit about the boy's choice in weapons "Anyway, we need to get to training ground three, and I would advise changing your outfit." His words made Naruto look at him quizzically

"And why may I ask is that Kakashi-sensei?" Looking down at his clothes Naruto wasn't sure what was wrong with his current outfit

"As a Shinobi, we got for speed and stealth, and while those clothes do grant you some freedom of movement, they still allow your opponent something to grab onto effortlessly if you're trying to escape." What he had said made sense and Naruto knew it

Nodding in acknowledgement Naruto turned and headed back into the ramen shop and ordered his meal to go before going to find his apartment. It had been sometime since he had seen this place or set foot inside it so he was expecting to find it filthy and not fit to live in due to the empty Ramen containers, used milk jugs and other things that had been left behind when he was taken in by his uncle, but much to the boy's surprise the room was spotless. Everything was clean and neatly packed away, even his room looked like someone had recently tidied up and this made him think that either someone was staying here or the Hokage had asked someone to clean it up, either way he was happy to be home

Moving around the apartment he had his meal then took a quick shower before moving to his room to get dressed. Realizing that all he really had in terms of clothing were his old garbs from the academy he decided upon a new look

"Where is Kakashi-sensei? He told us to meet him here?" A pink haired girl asked looking over at Sasuke who was now dressed in his traditional Uchiha clothing; a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha crest on the back with white arm warmers and white shorts, with a short blue-clothed forehead protector with the Konoha symbol on the metallic plate

"I don't know Sakura, just like I didn't know the last ten times you asked me." The Uchiha sighed glancing at the annoying pink hair girl who was now pacing back and forth

She was fair skinned, with large green eyes and dressed in a red short sleeved qipao dress with white circular designs, with a zipper, tight dark green shorts, and a forehead protector which she used to accentuate her face. Letting out a sigh of frustration Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke who was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed looking peaceful as she thought he was asleep, but before she could do anything out of her norm she turned away in time to see someone walking towards them

"Sasuke, someone's here." Gently nudging the dozing Uchiha with her foot she looked down at him then back at the person coming towards them

As Sasuke opened his eyes he instantly recognized the person even with his new outfit on. Naruto was dressed in an orange _happi_ jacket with black trim with a black swirl on the back which he had open revealing bare chest while red _sarashi_ bandage tape is wrapped around his abdomen, ankles and feet, with orange dōgi trousers and black shinobi sandals with his Sakabatō Saisei still on his left hip held in place by his now black _obi_

"Who are you?" Sakura commanded not wanting her uncertainty of this newbie show through "State your name and what you're doing here."

"He's Naruto Uzumaki," The voice of Kakashi-sensei sounded from above in the same tree Sasuke was just leaning against "And he is now a part of Team Seven."

"What?!" The pink haired female was flustered and angered by this "We don't need anyone else on this team sensei, you, Sasuke and I are enough for any mission they want to give us," Turning back to Naruto she glowered her anger about the situation at him "Besides, if I remember correctly, he was dead last in the academy in everything so why is he on our team?"

"That's enough Sakura." Kakashi groaned as he looked at the girl then back at Naruto as he jumped down from the tree "The Hokage has personally tested Naruto and decided that he should be on our team, and that's that."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto chimed in with a sigh as he looked at Sakura calmly "Since both her and Sasuke have a problem with me, why not let them fight me and see my skills for themselves?" This sparked something in Sakura as she stepped forward

"You're not worthy to fight Sasuke, you not even worthy to fight me." She snapped taking a fighting stance "But just to prove to you that you're not that great, let's go at it." Without a word, Kakashi moved away and decided to let them have it out, mostly because he wanted to see what Naruto could do in a situation like this, but more so to shut Sakura up

Slowly turning his right side to her, Naruto gently slid his right foot forward bending both legs at the knees and held his right hand before him as his left gripped his sword waiting for Sakura to make her move. Watching as the girl circles him, he moved as well never letting her get behind him until she made her move out of frustration. In a flash of light, Naruto was behind her slowly sheathing his blade as the girl fell to her knees clutching her stomach and coughing violently

"What the hell just happened?" Sasuke asked confusion written on his face as he glared at Naruto

"Battōjutsu…" Kakashi's voice trailed off as he looked at Sakura who was trying to stand and then at Naruto who was not facing him

"Battōjutsu, what is that Kakashi-sensei?" The onyx haired boy asked seeing Naruto move to check on Sakura who had collapsed

"Battōjutsu is a field of Kenjutsu which deals specifically with the rapid drawing and sheathing of a sword." Naruto answered checking to see if the young girl was injured badly "It is a technique for speed and accuracy mastered only by myself and my uncle Kenshin Himura." His words made Sasuke go wide-eyed in disbelief

"The Battosai is your uncle?" Sakura coughed as she shoved Naruto away while trying to force herself to stand

"Well, that explains a lot then." Sasuke smiled gently "But while she may be a weakling and can't hold her own in a fight," Sasuke's smile vanished as he closed his eyes "I am Sasuke Uchiha, and I wield the most powerful kekkei genkai in the Uchiha line," Opening his eyes the boy revealed the pupils of his eyes had turned red and he had one tomoe in each eye "The Sharingan." This instantly spurred Kakashi to move intercepting Sasuke who had now began moving towards Naruto, as the blond samurai prepared himself for the attack

"So the boy has awakened his Sharingan, eh?" A snake-like male's voice sounded as several persons wearing straw hats and long, dark cloaks with red clouds were seen standing in a cave looking around at each other "Well then, perhaps it's time to begin the first phase of my plan."

"And what plan is that?" Another male voice asked as his eyes glanced over at the person who spoke

"That, my dear friend," The first person smiled gently "Is for another time, you all have your missions, now go and do feel free to have as much fun as you want." Chuckling gently he turned and began walking away, as his laughter echoed off the cave walls much to the chagrin of the others who were left behind

"I think he's up to something, and if we don't find out what it is, it is going to jeopardize everything we've strived for so far." A third male voice sounded "But until I figure out a plan of action, keep on with the set plans and do not fail." With that all persons left in the cavern vanished in puffs of smoke

After their disastrous team meeting, Sasuke and Sakura were walking through the village silently contemplating what was said by Kakashi-sensei….

"That's enough, if you three cannot learn to work together as a team, I will ask the Hokage to put you back into the academy and have you all start over again and be placed in separate team with the younger kids, do I make myself clear?" His words were calm but held such seriousness to them

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." The three young shinobi replied in unison as they were dismissed for the day and instructed to be back at the training ground by dawn the next morning…..

"God, who does Kakashi-sensei think he is, threatening us like that." Sakura broke the silence as she stopped and stomped her foot in anger "I mean it's not our fault that we don't think that dead-last should be on our team."

"Shut up Sakura," Sasuke snapped glaring at the girl "Even if he was dead-last when he was here before, he was trained by the Battosai for the last two years, so do you really think he is still that weak runt from back then?" This made the girl stop and think about the fact she had been ignoring for the last few hours

Without another word Sasuke parted way with the girl and headed home leaving her to her thought, which at this point were trying to weigh the pros and cons of having Naruto on their team. As she walked on lost in a daze of her own thoughts she failed to notice the scaffolding that had come loose just above her and begun falling, but it wasn't until a voice from across the street yelled out that she was alerted to the impending danger. As she looked up in fear she was too shocked to move until a familiar blond hair male appeared before her

"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū – Kuzuryūsen!" Crouching slightly he sprang from the ground using immense power to attack the scaffolding, hitting it nine vital spots on it causing it to separate as he landed shielding the girl from the crash

"You…. You saved me?" Her voice was shaky as he stood shaking off the loose debris from his body only to notice that he had one of the metal spikes from the scaffolding lodge in his shoulder "Why?"

"We're teammates," Smiling gently the blond fell to his knees before her "That's what we do…." And with that he fell unconscious with his head on her shoulder


	6. The First Mission

The gentle sting of the suns' rays on his face woke him with a soft groan as he felt the stiffness from his shoulder. Opening his eyes he looked around and noticed that he was in the Konoha Hospital and that was when he remembered what happened the night before as his hand instinctively went to his wound and massaged his now healed shoulder. A soft groan from his right alerted him to someone else in the room, looking over he say the pink haired girl asleep with her head rested upon her arms on the edge of the bed, but as he watched her she stirred and looked up seeing him watching her

"Good morning, Sakura-chan." His voice was soft and kind as he looked at her "Did you stay the night watching over me?" His question caused her to blush as she gently stood

"I'll go get the nurse." Turning she walked to the door but as she opened it she stepped back seeing Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei standing there

"Good you're already here," Seeing that Naruto was awake he nodded at the boy "And you're awake good, the Hokage has decided to give us a mission, I'll go get the nurse and then brief you on the mission." As Kakashi left Sasuke immediately turned his attention to the blond

"So, you saved her life, what for?" The onyx haired boy was calm as he stared at the samurai then the pink annoyance

"Sasuke, can we not talk about this here?" Sakura spoke up knowing that this would create an argument with them all

"I just find it interesting that he was there to stop you from getting crushed by that scaffolding and make himself look like a hero." Sasuke's words held contempt for the blond and Sakura felt it which made her stop and look at Naruto

"How did you know that the scaffolding was going to fall?" Confusion rang out in the kunoichi's voice as she looked at her savior

"I was following you," Naruto spoke softly with a sigh "I wanted to see if you were ok after my attack."

There was a general silence around the room until the door slid open and Kakashi along with the nurse walked in with the latter immediately checking on Naruto to ensure he was ready for release

"So, they think the boy set her up?" A voice sounded from the shadows as another of the cloaked figures approached a man dressed in an Anbu uniform

"Yeah, the little bitch didn't suspect a think until the Uchiha brat brought it up." Chuckling the Anbu looked at the figure "So about my payment?"

"Ah yes," The figure spoke softly "Your payment." There was a flash of red eyes before the Anbu hit the ground blood seeping from his throat "I hope your payment makes you happy." And with that the figure vanished

"So, that's the gist of it." Kakashi stated looking at his genin "We need to escort this man to the Land of Waves and stay with him until he has completed his tasks there." The briefing for the mission had put a pin in the accusations of Sasuke about Naruto setting Sakura up but it was still weighing on the mind of the pink hair girl "Gather what you need for the mission and meet me at the North Gate in two hours." Turning on his heel the man started to leave which almost instantly caused Sasuke to attack Naruto

"So you gonna tell us why you wanted to kill Sakura?" This prompted Sakura to gasp in shock as she looked from her crush to the blond

"I never attempted to kill anyone and if that's what you think then screw you." Walking passed the Uchiha; Naruto looked at Sakura "if you agree with him then fine." Jumping into a tree next to him Naruto left the area to get ready for the mission, which now made him feel the need to fight even more than usual

At the appointed time all members of Team 7 met at the gate with Naruto standing the furthest from the others while they were introduced to their client by Kakashi-Sensei before leaving the village. They had been walking for almost four hours when something caught the blond boy's attention but he kept it to himself and decided to wait but upon looking at Kakashi he knew the white haired man caught on to what he sensed as well

"Sasuke, fall back with Sakura and Tazuna, Naruto take up the front." Even though his voice was calm Sasuke knew something was up but didn't debate it and fell into line on the left of Tazuna with Sakura on the right

Continuing in this formation for a few more minutes, Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked back at Kakashi in time to see his sensei behind ripped apart by bladed chains from either side of trail they were on. Instinctively Naruto flung a kunai at the trees and was pleased when he saw the chain fall to the ground as the shadow of someone overhead alerted him and the others to the attack from above, but right as Naruto and Sasuke moved to react both attackers were sent flying by a punch and a kick from Kakashi-Sensei, who had appeared above the assailants

"The Demon Brothers; Gozu and Meizu Chunin level missing-nin from Kirigakure." Kakashi's words prompted the genin trio to look at the men who lay unconscious before them "They wouldn't just attack, unless…." Kakashi's voice trailed off as he looked at the men

"Unless they were aiming to kill us." Sakura finished Kakashi's statement looking at the others as she did

"Not us Sakura," Sasuke piped up as his eyes fixed onto the old man they were escorting which in turn made everyone look at him "Him, they were most likely after him."

"Ok spill it old man what's the deal with these two attacking us?" Naruto snapped angered that his team was put in danger on what was supposed to be a C-Ranked mission

"You boys failed." Stated an impeccable dressed man in a black business suit as he stared down a shadowed figure sitting in the middle of what looked to be an office "I want you to handle this personally since it seems that bastard Tazuna has some high ranked shinobi with him."

"Is that an order, Gatō?" The figures voice sounded as the slight shift of the figure made the man and his associates tense in fear "If it is then I'd have to kill you, if it's not then its best you leave now, so I can get back to my rest."

With that the man turned with his colleagues and hurried from the room but stopped hearing the figure clear his throat

"Oh by the way Gatō, my fee just went up 30%, now get out."

"So there you have it, Gatō wants me dead so he can continue his tyrannical way of doing things in my village." Tazuna stated calmly taking a sip from his flask before looking at the ninja's before him "So are you going to turn around and go back to the Leaf?"

"Are you kidding?" Naruto chuckled gently his anxiety rolling off him as he looked at his companions "As a shinobi and a samurai, I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my nindo: my ninja way!" The boys' conviction cause Kakashi to smile beneath his mask as he looked at the other genin

"Well if the dead-last wants to continue this mission," Cracking his neck Sasuke smirked slightly admiring Naruto's zeal for this endeavor "Being his better then, I refuse to be outdone, I'm in too."

"You do know this might mean certain death for you right?" Tazuna asked the confusion in his voice was evident even to Sakura as he stood looking at them

"Old man, we are Team 7 of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, we never back down and we never turn our back on a mission once we accept, isn't that right Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura smiled warmly as she looked at Sasuke and Naruto and used them as motivation for what lied ahead

"Well then, seems you have your answer bridge builder." Looking at the old man Kakashi nodded before grabbing his backpack and moved to stand next to his team "Which way will we be less likely to run into more enemies?"

Shaking his head in disbelief Tazuna smiled before turning on his heel and leading them down another path away from the beaten trail. The journey was relatively uneventful for the next few hours save for a gentle mist slowly rolling in from the ocean that they now walked next to

"There is a dock up ahead where we can rent a boat which will take us to my village." Right as those words left Tazuna's lips the dock came into sight which made the others breathe a sigh of relief as they were not in need of food and a rest

Once the boat was rented they boarded and got everything ready to set said with Tazuna sitting in the middle of the boat encircled by the genin with Kakashi at the helm steering them ahead as per Tazuna's instructions. Making landfall they watched in the distance of the misty view they sun slowly drift towards the horizon as they walked on, something in the air made Kakashi stop and this prompted the other's to stop as well and look at him wondering what was going on

"DUCK!" Yelling out right as he pulled Tazuna and Sakura down with him a large sword sailed over the heads of the entire team and wedged itself into a tree behind them as Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi drew their kunai and shuriken and waited to see where the next attack would come from but immediately stopped as a voice sounded from where the sword was

"Naruto Uzumaki, it's been a while." As the mist slowly cleared it revealed a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows "How is your dear uncle Kenshin?" The man was seen wearing bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face, while his forehead protector sideways on his head

"Zabuza Momochi should have known the mist was you're doing." Naruto stated calmly as he stood and watch as the man jumped off the handle of the sword he wielded and landed before them, as he came into a clearer view it was revealed that he was shirtless, with his chest only covered by a belt to which he attached his sword to, wearing baggy pants with the striped pattern typical of Kirigakure and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers

"Naruto you know this man?" Kakashi asked never taking his eyes off the man before them

"He was a swordsman my uncle introduced me to when I was training with him," Cracking his neck gently the blond slowly adjusted his stance "He is very skilled and uses certain skills that even my uncle had a hard time getting around."

"Ah well enough of a trip down memory lane," Nodding gently Zabuza cracked his knuckles "I came here to kill that man Naruto, not you and your associates, do not get involved." Vanishing from sight he sent everyone onto high alert for the moment he would attack


End file.
